Maktab Duli as runners up in the 18th Gulingtangan Competition for Brunei Colleges and Secondary Schools

RIPAS Secondary School as the Winner of the 18th Gulingtangan Competition for Brunei Colleges and Secondary Schools

I was honoured to be invited to officiate at the 18th Gulingtangan Competition for Brunei Colleges and Secondary Schools on 23rd June 2012. It was held at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Secondary School in Tutong.

I have never been to the competition before and I had to admit I thought I would be looking at something very traditional which I always see being performed. When the first group from Maktab Duli went up the stage and started their performance, it was an eye opener. They were good, in fact, they were very very good. I did not realise that even a traditional instrument such as guling tangan could be made to sound the way it sounded. This is not even taking into account other on stage performances, theaterics and costume worn by the students. I was impressed. I had a bad flu on that day but the performances blew me away.

I thought Maktab Duli would have won it as the next seven schools did well but not as well rounded as the Maktab Duli's performance. Though RIPAS Secondary School, the last of the eight competitors did give Maktab Duli a run for their money. Even though in the end, I was a littlbe bit surprised when RIPAS Secondary School, the champions for the last three years won it for a fourth time with a score of 79.6 and Maktab Duli was second with a score of 79.3. I did ask the experts and the answer was that RIPAS was slightly better at managing the gulingtangan (mengangkat is the word that I was given). So Maktab Duli knows what to do to win it the next time round.

I was impressed with the preparation for the competition by RIPAS Secondary School as the host. It must have taken the teachers and their students a few weeks at least to get the stage ready and to put up all those huts and decorations on stage. So well done too for the successful hosting of the competition.

But above all, well done to everyone who took part and contributed towards making the Brunei legacy of gulingtangan, a legacy that will not be forgotten by the future generation of Bruneians.

DESPITE first making its appearance in the Sultanate during the 1940s, Kuih Mor continues to be a household favourite today as a tea time snack or festive treat particularly during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Siti Norhafizah Hj Bagol, a final year student at Universiti Brunei Darussalam who researched on Kuih Mor as part of her Brunei Traditional Industry module, said the three-ingredient sweet treat may have existed in Brunei as early as the 1940s when padi was known to have been grown to make different food items.

Over time, the cookie has also become a popular door-gift choice often handed out at Malay weddings or gatherings, said Siti Norhafizah.

Made with flour, oil and granulated sugar which have been ground into a powder, the bite-sized biscuits have a crumbly texture and are coated with powdered sugar.

The age-old technique of making Kuih Mor by hand has however changed over the course of time, with many now opt…

BY COMMAND of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Prime Minister’s Office hereby announces that His Majesty has consented to the transfer and appointment of the following senior officers – Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid, Permanent Secretary (Law and Welfare) at the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau and Solicitor General has been transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; and Datin Elinda binti Haji CA Mohamed, Special Senior Duties Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs has been appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office and Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau.